Easter relived

After church, we celebrated the day with an Easter dinner and all the fixings, which usually included the basics — a ham, some potatoes, a vegetable, a Jell-O salad and rolls. I don’t remember many desserts, since the sweet contents of the Easter baskets were already getting lots of attention. Sometimes extended family members joined us; sometimes they didn’t. Either way, dinner was always served around Grandma’s big dining room table. The centerpiece on the table was a bowl filled with more Easter eggs and candy — presumably treats the Easter Bunny had left for the adult members of the household.

The afternoon was spent playing outside with our Easter surprises, which usually consisted of jump ropes, jacks, paddle balls, bubbles and other inexpensive treats. Often it was the first time of the season when we’d get our bikes out of their winter slumber, pump up the tires, and take them on an outing. It wouldn’t have been unusual for a baseball or kickball game to get started in the barnyard either. Throughout the day, we’d revisit our Easter basket many times, snatching a jelly bean, a gumball, a marshmallow egg or one of the coveted pieces of chocolate.

By the end of the day, we were exhausted. Besides playing outside nearly all day long and clearly eating more sugar than was ever intended, we’d climb into bed with visions of the Easter Bunny waving good-bye until next year.

That was it. Of course, that is the cliff note version of a Simon family Easter, but from my youthful perspective, those were the high points. It was the same thing every year. From my earliest memories on ... Easter happened just that way. There were no changes. Right down to the orange Jell-O salad with the marshmallows and the red, rubber ball that inevitably detached itself from the rubberband on the paddle ball ... yes, you could count on what Easter would hold at our house.